“A Full Service Alpaca Farm Including Seminars and Consulting”
Alpaca Nutrition Overview
Alpacas are members of a family that comprise the old and new world camelids. As a group, they all have very similar digestive systems adapted for digesting lower protein plant materials. They have three gut compartments before the intestines. Humans (primates) have one – the simple stomach. Cows, a true ruminant, have four “stomachs”. Like alpacas, cows are classified as ruminants as they chew their cud. Horses are not ruminants as they lack a rumen and do not chew their cud.
Cud chewing is very effective in reducing grass to a fine wet “slurry”, crushing weed seeds and allowing the rumen microorganisms to properly function. Cud chewing is also a sign of a contented alpaca. However, although similar to a cow, alpacas are significantly different and are more properly called a modified ruminant as they have three stomachs.
All camelids excrete dry “bean like” manure. This non-smelly fecal matter resembles deer manure. In times of water deprivation, the fecal matter can be very low in water content. The camelid extracts almost all the nutrition out of the food, resulting in manure that is very low in nitrogen, but high in humus value. It is ideal for composting.
Alpacas need forage – and live green grazing forage is the best. This vegetal matter should comprise at least 80% of their daily food intake by dry matter weight of about 2-4% of the animals mass.
This latter percentage number depends on the life stage of the alpaca - if it is pregnant, nursing or at a growth stage. For example, each day a 100 lb non-pregnant and non lactating alpaca might need 2-4 lbs of quality dry hay, and 6-10 ounces of a pelleted feed, with access to fresh water and a mineral mix. For this reason, it is important to know how much a “flake” of hay weighs.
In the summer, when forage is available in the pasture, the alpaca may eat 10-15 lbs of green forage per day, as the vast majority of the fresh forage is water. This 10-15 lbs of fresh grass, when water is removed, leaves the 2-4 lbs of dry matter for digestion. Too often, people feed their alpacas too much pelleted feed and too little forage. This not only is bad for the rumen but they get fat. Many vets feel that the number one health problem in alpacas is overfeeding or feeding incorrectly.
Nutrition Overview
Nutrition Terms
Transfer Factor
Problems with Rye
Bermudagrass
Orchardgrass Choices
Alfalfa Forage
Nutrition Issues
Copper a Micronutrient